Pouch sorter arrangement

Abstract

A sorting arrangement for sorting objects, such as parcels of small and medium size, for loading onto a transport vehicle for delivery from a storage facility, such as a distribution centre, said arrangement comprising a pouch sorter having a plurality of hanging pouches for receiving and storing objects therein, including at least one delivery pouch buffer receiving said individually transferred pouch or group of pouches; wherein the pouches are transferred to the delivery pouch buffer in a predetermined sequence for providing a sequential delivery pouch buffer at the delivery vehicle loading position.

1 . A sorting arrangement for sorting objects, such as parcels of small and medium size, for loading onto a transport vehicle for delivery from a storage facility, such as a distribution centre, said arrangement comprising
 a pouch sorter having a plurality of hanging pouches for receiving and storing objects therein, including
 at least one delivery pouch buffer receiving said individually transferred pouch or group of pouches; 
 wherein the pouches are transferred to the delivery pouch buffer in a predetermined sequence for providing a sequential delivery pouch buffer at the delivery vehicle loading position. 
   
     
     
         2 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the hanging pouches are provided with discharging means for automatically emptying the pouches. 
     
     
         3 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 2 , wherein the hanging pouches in the sequential delivery buffer are sequentially opened and thereby emptied onto conveyor means. 
     
     
         4 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein one delivery pouch buffer is at a transport delivery vehicle loading position. 
     
     
         5 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the sequential delivery buffer at the delivery vehicle loading position is provided above conveyor means for the transfer of the parcels to storage inside the transport delivery vehicle. 
     
     
         6 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the conveyor means is a chute, a roller conveyor, a conveyor belt or a boom conveyor. 
     
     
         7 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the pouch sorter further comprises at least one pouch storage from which the pouches can be transferred individually, and wherein said pouch storage preferably comprises multiple buffer circuits. 
     
     
         8 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein there is provided a control system for monitoring the sorting, sequencing and loading of the transport delivery vehicle, said control system comprising a scanning system to identify the parcels and then assign them to a pouch. 
     
     
         9 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 8 , wherein said scanning system of the control system comprises sensors, such as cameras or the like, to monitor the emptying of the pouches onto the conveyor means. 
     
     
         10 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 8 , wherein the control system is adapted to empty the objects of the sequenced pouches in the sequential delivery buffer onto the conveyor means at a regular interval, or the control system is adapted to control the emptying by manual ordering means for ordering the next pouch to be emptied. 
     
     
         11 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 8 , wherein the predetermined sequence of the pouches in the at least one sequential delivery pouch buffer is managed by the control system based on the route of the transport delivery vehicle to be loaded. 
     
     
         12 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 8 , wherein the control system is provided with item information of all sorted objects that are received on the pouch sorter, and wherein the control system may be adapted to calculate the route of the one or more transport delivery vehicles based on said items information, and wherein the control system may be adapted to produce the sequence of pouches in the delivery pouch buffer based on said item information. 
     
     
         13 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein a plurality of pouch delivery buffers are provided at each of a plurality of delivery vehicle loading positions. 
     
     
         14 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 13 , wherein said plurality of pouch delivery buffers are sequenced from a distribution pouch sorter receiving pouches from the at least one pouch storage, said distribution pouch sorter being a line sorter or a loop sorter. 
     
     
         15 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the delivery pouch buffer can hold at least 30% of the items up to 100% of the objects for the transport delivery vehicle being received at the delivery vehicle loading position. 
     
     
         16 . A sorting arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein a second type of objects, such as parcels of larger or odd size, are provided at one or more delivery vehicle loading positions using a second sorter system, such as a line sorter or the like. 
     
     
         17 . A method of sorting objects, such as parcels of small and medium size, for loading onto a transport vehicle for delivery from a storage facility, such as a distribution centre, said method comprising the steps of:
 sorting and storing objects in a plurality of hanging pouches in a pouch storage of a pouch sorter, and   sequencing said pouches in a predetermined sequence; and   buffering the sequenced pouches in a delivery pouch buffer, preferably at a transport delivery vehicle loading position, in the predetermined sequence for providing a sequential delivery pouch buffer, and   unloading the pouches one by one said sequence and loading said pouches in the transport delivery vehicle.